NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA21LA251
Registry · N5779P
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
PIPER PA-24
Year of manufacture
1959 · 62 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING O&VO-360 SER (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19590318
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A76C0B
Registrant of record
LECHNER KEVIN P
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection which resulted in a failure of the right main landing gear tire on landing rollout, a subsequent loss of directional control, and landing gear collapse.
Factual narrative
The pilot was approaching the runway for landing and stated that the initial touchdown and landing roll were uneventful. After the first 100 ft, the airplane began to pull to the left, and the right main landing gear collapsed. The pilot said that during a postaccident examination of the right main landing gear, he discovered a small nail that had punctured the tire and innertube. An examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed the horizontal stabilizer and empennage had been substantially damaged during the accident sequence. The FAA inspector also confirmed the punctured tire and innertube. Additionally, the FAA inspector discovered nails on the pilot’s hangar floor that were identical to the nail that was found in the airplane’s tire. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Debris/dirt/foreign object-Effect on equipment
- — Personnel issues-Task performance-Inspection-Preflight inspection-Pilot
- — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Tube-Failure
- — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Tire casing-Failure
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2021_ERA21LA251.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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